"I'd Ship That..."
"I'd Ship That..."
FanFiction vs. The World
FanFiction vs. The World
Embedded Files
Working Thesis
Working Thesis
I’m in the process of planning my term paper and starting to outline the information that will be included. I will need to include the following sections in my final paper:
- Introduction & Thesis
- Descriptions of Research Questions
- Background Information
- Upshots (What did I learn?)
- Conclusion
I will also need to cite 3 - 4 resources from class (two of which I’ve already identified) and 3 - 4 of my own sources. I have way too many of my own sources right now and need to pare them down a bit. My planned thesis is going to be something along the lines of:
Individuals participate in online fan communities via reading and writing fanfiction for many complex reasons that go beyond a love of the fandom itself.
Individuals participate in online fan communities via reading and writing fanfiction for many complex reasons that go beyond a love of the fandom itself.
My argument is going to focus on all the reasons that people get involved in digital communities that center around fanfiction for a specific fandom. My initial thought was that people loved the fandom and wanted more so they went online to find what they were looking for; that is true to a point. But it’s also an oversimplification because I’m finding that individuals who participate in the reading and writing of fanfiction do so for different reasons, many of which focus on the satisfaction they get from that participation.
I have an ethics paper due Wednesday so I’m not going to be able to really get into my drafting of this essay until after that point, but having the outline and building on it is a big part of my process, too. The essay is starting to take shape in my mind.
Mae C.
Sunday, April 29th
What does “success” look like to a fanfic author?
What does “success” look like to a fanfic author?
As I do more and more research and revisit the interviews I did with fanfic authors, I’ve started to answer this question. I initially thought that what many fanfic authors were seeking to do was to practice writing, to get their stories out and get feedback so that they could then try and write “real” stories for mainstream publication. I was working under the assumption that these authors viewed success as mainstream publication of their original work. I’m going to call this the “50 Shades of Grey Theory;” this name is, of course, based on the 50 Shades of Grey series that began as “Masters of the Universe,” a Twilight fanfiction and has now garnered millions of fans and a movie series to boot.
I have a much different perspective now. My working thesis for my final project is basically that individuals join online fandoms (a form of digital community) for a variety of reasons that go beyond a fanatical love of whatever verse they are interested in. I had originally planned to write that one of the reasons people join is what because of my 50 Shades of Grey Theory.
Honestly, that may be true for some, but I think that success for fanfic authors is actually very personal. Like for IndianSummer13, success is when she really gets her characters right and her readers comment that she nailed their characterization. LazyDaizy loves bughead and always works to bring Betty and Jughead their happy ending. And HannahJane is all about writing these bad ass female characters set in AU’s. Their characters and readers matter so much to them and the biggest mark of success is achieving positive responses. Success for them isn’t publication. In fact, of the four authors I spoke to, only one had plans to take her fanfiction, modify it and then try to get published.
Looks like my 50 Shades of Grey Theory doesn’t really apply in as widespread a fashion as I originally thought.
Mae C.
Saturday, April 28th
P.S. The above link for "Masters of the Universe" actually works, if you feel like taking a gander.
You can also just click the banner below.
Please click the image to view presentation.
Please click the image to view presentation.
My Final Presentation
My Final Presentation
The purpose of this blog has been to explore the topic of fanfiction with the goal of narrowing that topic down into something more manageable that I could write a term paper on. This past week I posted a presentation for my classmates that details my journey into the topic, what I've learned so far and what I' planning to write about. For those of you who have been on this journey with me, it seems only fair that you get to see my official "findings."
Mae C.
Friday, April 27th
Our fourth and final author profile has been posted!!!
Our fourth and final author profile has been posted!!!
Please go read all about
Please go read all about
and the unique and fantastic work she is producing!!!
and the unique and fantastic work she is producing!!!
Mae C.
Monday, April 23rd
Henry Jenkins & The State of Fandom Studies
Henry Jenkins & The State of Fandom Studies
I’m moving more and more into the research phase of my project and I’ve really come to admire Henry Jenkins and the work he is sharing. He is extremely prolific, publishing articles and podcasts frequently on his site. His information is also very up-to-date because he works hard to stay in the moment and to contact individuals active in fandom studies at the moment.
There is one particular series that Jenkins began posting on in March called The State of Fandom Studies. In his words, Jenkins explained:
I hope that this will offer a chance for all of us to get to know these (mostly) young scholars and their works better and to take some soundings of the state of fandom studies as a field. I believe doing so will provide a rich resource both for students around the world seeking to better understand fandom, as well as future generations, to identify work that speaks to their own needs and interests.
Henry Jenkins, The State of Fandom Studies 2018: Introduction
The series of articles is fantastic - to date, Jenkins has posted 13 different articles (25 posts total) that detail conversations he has had/is having with current leaders in the field of fandom studies. I’m working my way through the right now (it’s a lot of material!), but I’ve found each of them to be fascinating resources. If you’re at all interested in learning about the more academic side of fandom, this is a site and series you want to spend some time with. Below are links to the series introduction as well as the archives where you can find the posts. Enjoy!
The State of Fandom Studies 2018: Introduction
Mae C.
Saturday, April 21st
Photo Credit henryjenkins.org
After far, far
After far, far
FAR too long
FAR too long
is available!
is available!
Please give it a read and check out some of her amazing stories!
Please give it a read and check out some of her amazing stories!
Mae C.
Monday, April 16th
I disappeared - I’m sorry!
I disappeared - I’m sorry!
Since the month began, life has gotten the upper hand with me. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about my blog or my project. I’ve really been considering how to narrow my topic because I’ve been moving into research mode. I will be presenting to my classmates on this topic next week and will also be submitting a term paper.
As I’ve worked through the process of interviewing others and creating profiles, I’ve returned time and again to the concept of digital community within the fanfic world. I’m trying to understand how these communities develop and form alliances or rivalries with others. I’m also learning about the relationships that individuals within the community form with one another. Everything I’m seeing is that those individual relationships differ from person to person, and there doesn’t seem to be any consistent method of forming one’s online support system.
In fact, the most consistent thing I’ve found is that most writers prefer to keep their online hobby fully to themselves, sharing the fact that they participate in fanfiction reading and writing from the people in their offline lives. When I asked them about this, I got very similar answers: this belongs to me.
They talk about the part of the internet they’ve carved out just for themselves and the joy they get from writing like those things are pure and precious to them, things that deserve to be protected from outside pressures. I really get that. As I’ve described my topic to people in my life, there has been a lot of judgment and eye rolling - the overall reception has not been hospitable.
I haven’t told anyone that I’m secretly a huge fanfic reader because I’ve felt afraid of being embarrassed. When people ask how I found my topic, I tell them I picked it off a list. And I feel like a jerk for not owning it, but the thing is - just like the people I’ve been talking to and learning about - this is something special to me. It’s MY corner of the internet, too, and I don’t want to open that up to judgment and ridicule.
I guess what I’m learning is that fanfic is something of a digital refuge for all different kinds of people. And that’s pretty cool.
Mae C.
Sunday, April 15th
Small Changes
Small Changes
With the turn of the calendar from March to April, a few changes have been made....
With the turn of the calendar from March to April, a few changes have been made....
- March posts have been moved off the Home Page and onto March 2018 Posts (the button is in the top right corner).
- Author Profiles are being structured a bit differently.
- Each author will have her own subpage with her individual profile.
- The Author Profile page has a new comment form for you to share positive and constructive feedback for our authors.
- IndianSummer13's profile is nearly done and should be posted no later than Wednesday.
Mae C.
Monday, April 2nd
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